UPDATED BY GPSPASSION 20080312 : AMOD have just made available a new v2.0s firmware with SN (Static Navigation) disabled (see below for explanation on SN). They have also added 6 new logging modes with variations in the update rate and NMEA messages being broadcast. With RMC messages recorded every 10 seconds, the logging life is now up to 120 days. In case that's not enough for you or if you want to backup your data, it is also OTB (One Touch Backup) compatible now (thanks to PrzemekW for checking). More details and links on page 8.UPDATED BY GPSPASSION 20080222 : After noting some strange logging patterns in pedestrian use, I did get confirmation that Static Navigation is indeed enabled on the v2 models of the 3080 and this cannot be changed. I mentioned that having SN activated for a data logger was not a very good idea as it is likely going to be used on foot quite a bit and they agreed. They are planning to come up with a v3 with SN disabled by default and with the option for the end-user to activate it.

Compared to other GPS Data loggers

UPDATED BY GPSPASSION 20080122: I needed the 3800 for some comparison testing the other day and couldn't remember which one was which, so I take them both on the road and compared the results but first letting them acquire a fix next to my reradiating antenna. The results are quite interesting, the signal level is very different, about a 12dB-Hz difference, which is huge, but the actual tracks are quite comparable on average, except in more difficult conditions, sharp turns for instance, not that surprising really since the SiRFstarIII can work with very low signals, as happens behind coated windshields. The problems are long TTFF and worse accuracy of course.UPDATED BY GPSPASSION 20071219: Just received a new test unit and I'm happy to report that whatever problem was causing the lack of sensitivity on my previous test unit has been fixed! I can't see any serial number on the unit so I'm not sure how to determine when it was fixed but it's safe to assume that units shipping currently are OK.

I had it stored deep inside my backpack on a train ride and walk around a Paris and it didn't miss a beat.

With this problem fixed the GL3080 goes back to the top of the list of existing dataloggers thanks to it's driverless implementation and also the fact that it records a full NMEA log that you can convert into whatever format suits your needs.UPDATED BY GPSPASSION 20071031 : An update on the problems noted below, after analyzing some logs I found that the SiRFstarIII chip was being fed very low signal from the GPS satellites, hence the long TTFF (28dB-Hz is needed to download the ephemeris data and get a warm fix) and poor accuracy (due to low/noisy signal). I'm told AMOD have figured out what the problem is and are working on an updated version.POSTED BY GPSPSASSION 20071012 : While it's very convenient to be able to download the raw NMEA track by just connecting the 3080 to a PC via USB, I'm rather disappointed by the 3080 in terms of GPS performance, it never got a fix inside Paris although I walked around for a good hour and then I saw a lot of "jumping" during a side by side comparison with the HTC Kaiser PDAPhone walking in the streets of Bry/Marne as seen above (HTC Kaiser PDAPhone in red, 3080 in green). It was clipped to the front of my backpack with a good view of the sky.

Pedestrian tracks are always a bit "wobbly", but I've seen much better from SiRFFstarIII receivers.POSTED 20071010 BY davidw4806 : I received the unit on time yesterday. The shipping package was great and everything was in the box. The AMOD unit comes in a nice box and includes the GPS Unit, a strap that attaches to the unit and includes a swivel clip and a CD ROM. The strap is ok but the clip is plastic and I am not sure how long it will last. The unit itself is well made and the battery door is solid plastic with a good connection, it does not feel like it will fall apart.

The GPS unit is easy to use, two buttons and 3 lights. 1 button is the power button and the other is a mark button.

I put three batteries in the unit and took it outside and powered it up. It took about 2.5 minutes to get its lock but it was the first time it was on since I took it out of the box. Will have to see how long the lock takes on the weekend after it has been sitting in the same location for a few days.

After the initial lock the system showed a blinking light which means it has a good signal. I began a walk around the block. While I was walking the unit was in my hand swinging back and forth. After 3/4's of the walk I held the unit steady in my hand with no movement back and forth.

When I returned home I plugged the unit into my MacBook Pro and it showed up immediately as a drive. There is a folder on the drive that holds all the logs. I took the NEMA log and used GPS Visualizer to convert the log to a GPX file and a KMZ file. Both were created with no errors. The files worked with Jet Photo and Google Earth.

My only issue was the unit had me bouncing all over the place as plotted by the log. I finally figured out that the strange plots were only in the area where I was swinging the unit in my hand while walking. Will have to see if it does this when clipped to my camera strap which is the method I hope to use going forward.

Software:

The CD Rom comes with a copy of Jet Photo for both MAC and PC. Everything is easy to use and I had no issues at all except for the plot bouncing that I probably created myself.

Will give it more tests over the weekend when I have time.

ORIGINAL POSTI ordered the AMOD AGL3080 GPS Data Logger today. Has anyone had a chance to use one for photos yet?

I was looking for a small data logger without a proprietary battery and could go as quickly as 1 second for each log entry. The manual shows the software only reading Lon and Lat. I do not need altitude but I also am not sure what it tracks for those who want a 3D reading of their travels. It is SIRFIII LP driven and is supposed to have a life of 15 hours with three charged batteries. It uses 3 AAA batteries but does not charge any within the unit itself. Universal USB interface requires no driver for Windows or Mac and the log is stored in standard NEMA format.

It appears to be exactly what I am looking for and I hope it stores the entries in one log rather than every 95 like the DG-100 from Globalsat.

I will be sure to write about my experiences when it arrives next week.

Posted - 05 mars 2013 : 03:29:26 OMG! I don'yt understand any of this discussion. I'm a GPS/AMOD newbee... amateur photographer that got tirted of not remembering where photos were taken. I just want simple uncomplicated, perhaps unsophisticated instructions on using the GPS andthe software that came wih it.Does anyone know of a manual that is more clear than the one thatcomes on the CD?I have several questions way simpler than the discussion here.

The Galaxy Note is not bad at all. It is the AGL3080 that is better (yes, I'm impressed and more than happy with its accuracy, specially since I've changed to SN-off).

gpspassion

Posted - 03 avr. 2012 : 02:49:48 Thanks for the additional info, still the Galaxy should have done better. I had the TAB at one point and it didn't perform so badly, I wonder what chipset they are using in the Note...

The good news is that the AMOD really did a good job and with its direct USB connectivity (and direct transfer to a jailbroken iPad) I think it's going to become my "goto" datalogger. The Qstarz loggers are nice but it's a hassle to have to use additional software to transfer data.

ceroni

Posted - 03 avr. 2012 : 01:12:23 Thanks for the picture resizing. Now I've found out how to do it.

Both devices were positioned on a recess just above the car's glove compartment, very close to each other.To be fair with the Samsung Galaxy, I've chosen the worst part of the tracklog. In the shown track I was driving very slowly (it's a narrow road in a particularly scenery location with vineyards on the hills). I suspect the Samsung Galaxy has the static navigation turned on, which explains the jumping around of the tracklog. However, I've been unnable to confirm it.

Anyway, after inspecting the whole tracklog I came to the conclusion that the AGL3080 clearly outperforms the Samsung Galaxy.

gpspassion

Posted - 02 avr. 2012 : 23:18:18 Wow, the Galaxy Note didn't do well, how were both system positioned ?

[PS - your picture was too large, I resized it and made it clickable for the full size version, should be explained in the picture upload topic ;-)]

Did some more battery testing with two 1000mAh and one 800mah (didn't have 3 of either) and I got 12h11 minutes, so that's significantly less than with the Eneloop AAA's!

Not too bad even if I seem to remember the Globalsat BT-335 achieved a bit more with its massive 1800mAh Li-Ion battery.

Was able to retrieve the log directly on my iPad and then send it to my Dropbox via the iFile application and open it there, neat. Haven't found any log converting application of GPS app that imports raw NMEA files though, only GPX.

gpspassion

Posted - 15 mars 2012 : 18:07:10 Had missed this, what do you mean ? Are you finding the logging to be more accurate with v2.5 ?

I upgraded mine to v2.5 but it seems to be available with SN ON for now so I'll downgrade to vZ.4 SP OFF as I'd like to use it when walking.

The power/non-power versions are a bit confusing, at first I thought they required new hardware but apparently not. I chose the Power version (recharges when you plug it in) but the lack of a charging indicator is also a bit confusing. Still it will come in handy to recharge during car trips.

I'm going to try to plug it in my iPad with the USB adapter to see what happens...

CONTINUED : well with the USB connector from the Camera kit, a jailbroken iPad and iFiles you can read the content of the AMOD! Now to find a way to convert NMEA to GPX on the iPad or an app that takes raw NMEA logs as input.

Use upgrade tool [ ] to upgrade to V 2.5P(S) with upgrade ============================================================================================================

User can use "GoNoGo.exe" tools to upgrade new firmware.

1. Plug-in AGL3080 device into PC (only works with Miscrosoft Windows XP & 2000, not support MAC yet )2. Decompress the upgrade package to same folder and find five files in the folder: ( GoNoGo.exe, CID.CID, ISP.ISP, write12.w12, ReleaseNote_V2.5P.txt )3. Execute "GoNoGo.exe", and then start to upgrade new firmware. Note, PLEASE DO NOT plug out AGL3080, or power off PC during firmware upgrade process. If the upgrade process is terminated without complete, please redo the firmware upgrade process to ensure the device will function well. 4. If upgrade procedure is finished, user can plug out AGL3080 device and run at new firmware.

=> Support USB chargeable function and power supply function through USB cable. (PS: the device will not switch to USB mode when plug into the PC through USB cable. and it will conitune to log GPS data untile the system shutdown. Therefore, if user want to let device connect to PC into USB mode, and plesase shutdown the device and then could connect to PC into USB mode. )

=> Add featuers that the device will automatically repeat to do cold start function when the device can not fix the GPS after 5 minutes of system start.

=> Fix bug that clear disk function sometimes can not display correct led status when hold on the button.

==> Fix the bug that the device still has create the same name folder before user create "GPSFILES" folder.

============================================================================================================The V2.0 firmware adds a "Setup Mode" described as below:

1. Original "DISC RESET" operation by holding both "POWER ON/OFF" button and "MARK" button simultaneously to clear up the storage space has been removed. Holding both "DISC RESET" and "POWER ON/OFF" buttons simultaneously will enter "SETUP MODE".

2. New function (SETUP MODE) and operation procedures is added and described as below:

** Operation procedure ** (1) Power off the device (2) Initiate "SETUP MODE" operation by holding both "POWER ON/OFF" button and "MARK" button simultaneously for 5 seconds. When you hold both buttons, the three LED will flash 5 times and stop at light on mode. You can release the buttons when three LED lights are all on.

** "SETUP MODE" Function description ** (1) Logging mode setup:

AGL3080 has 6 logging modes. You can change logging mode by pressing "MARK" button. For each press of the "MARK", it enters to following logging mode. Pressing "MARK" at "Mode 6" will bring you back to "Mode 1".

(2) Clear Disk function: ==> Hold "MARK" button for 5 seconds to all three LEDs start blink sequentially, then release the button to clear up the storage space. (3) Special features: (a) The device would power off during setup mode if you do not press any button after 1 minute. (b) If system power is low, the battery led will be on and then device will be powered off. At this time, user have to replace new batteries. (c) User's each change of the logging mode at the setup mode is recorded by the system. If the system is cut off power unexpectedly, the last setting value before power off is recorded. Therefore, the system power on at GPS mode, it will run at the last setting value.

3. This "V2.0" vesion is default for AGL3080 device. The default value of this device is with Static Navigation(SN) "ON". The other version "V2.0S" is with Static Navigation(SN) "OFF". => How to identify from two different versions? If it's default version (V2.0), Storage LED will flash "twice" after all three LEDs are on and then off. The GPS LED will start blinking when the device starts tracking successfully. If it's "SN OFF" version (V2.0S), Storage LED will flash "three times" after all three LEDs are on and then off. he GPS LED will start flashing when the device starts tracking successfully.

ceroni

Posted - 01 mars 2012 : 14:41:10 What follows is a compilation from several forums and blogs:

The static navigation mode has been introduced for road navigation, to avoid permanent changes of the coordinates, that would imply continous recalculation of itinerary and continous map movements. Static navigation is a position filter designed to be used with motor vehicles. When the vehicle’s velocity falls below a threshold, the position and heading are frozen, and velocity is set to zero. This condition will continue until the computed velocity rises above 1.2 times the threshold or until the computed position is at least a set distance from the frozen place. The threshold velocity and set distance may vary with software versions. Some references say that velocity's threshold is about 5 Km/h, thus for any other use of the GPS other than car navigation (ie, for using when walking) you must turn off the static navigation mode.Some versions of the AMOD AGL3080 shipped with a firmware setting known as "Static Navigation" turned On. If Static Navigation is On, the GPS will not update its location whenever it thinks you are not moving. This can be useful for automobile satnav devices, but for geotagging it is not recommended, especially if you are moving slowly on foot. Immediately after the device is turned on, the Storage indicator will blink to indicate the firmware setting. If it flashes 3 times, Static Navigation is Off and actual position fixes will be recorded. If it flashes only 2 times, Static Navigation (SN) is On and motion-filtered position data will be recorded. In this case, you may want to update the firmware to a version with SN Off.

Posted - 15 déc. 2011 : 12:42:27 Installed the 2.4P (static navigation off) firmware AMOD has sent me by e-mail (using Windows 7 64-bit).Works fine. Comparing to previous logs of the same paths (using 2.4P original, static navigation on), there were no effects on tracks while moving by car (city traffic) and tracks were much more accurate when walking.